Digital Commons Network^™

Teacher Self-Efficacy And The Civic Knowledge Of Secondary Social Studies Teachers In A Large Urban School District: A Policy Study, Dennis Holt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This policy study contributed to an understanding of the types of professional growth activities that improve teacher self-confidence to teach challenging subjects and helped determine the future allocation of resources relative to teaching secondary social studies in Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS), the eighth largest school district in the United States. An important implication and result of this study consisted of a change in HCPS secondary social studies professional development policy from an emphasis on promoting literacy strategies, or reading in the content area, to a focus on improving social studies teacher content knowledge. Additionally, the study describes the culture …

Gender Trouble In Northern Ireland: An Examination Of Gender And Bodies Within The 1970s And 1980s Provisional Irish Republican Army In Northern Ireland, Jennifer Earles

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With this thesis, I will utilize both feminist and queer theory to highlight the gendered and bodily tactics used by the women of the 1970s/1980s Provisional Irish Republican Army. I will explore how women can both manipulate gender and use their bodies as a response to gender, ethnic, class, and colonial power relations and conflict discourses, the limitations of these approaches, and how these actions can work to reconfigure political movements, local cultures, and create a space for social change and a future beyond conflict which includes women. My methods will include a feminist content analysis of interviews, written records, …

Modulation Of Asic1a Function By Sigma-1 Receptors: Physiological And Pathophysiological Implications, Yelenis Herrera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASIC) are a class of ligand gated plasma membrane ion channels that are activated by low extracellular pH. During ischemia, ASIC1a are activated and contribute to the demise of neurons. Pharmacological block of ASIC1a provides neuroprotection at delayed time points. However, no endogenous receptors have been implicated in the modulation of ASIC1a activity. The hypothesis presented is that sigma receptor activation inhibits ASIC1a function and ASIC1a-induced [Ca²?]i elevations during acidosis and ischemia, which may be a mechanism by which sigma ligands provide neuroprotection following stroke. This hypothesis is based on the following observations: First, sigma receptors regulate …

Gothic Cathedral As Theology And Literature, Mary E. Wilson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a tendency in modern times for life to be divided into strictly separated categories-our music is divided into bins at the record store according to sometimes arbitrary genre distinctions, courses offered by one university department often cannot be counted towards a degree in another department, and students from middle school through college are outraged when they learn that "spelling counts" in a history paper. These distinctions, which are second nature to us even in childhood, were not as numerous or as strict in the medieval European understanding of life. Even when there were systems of division, such as …

Multi-Functional Composite Materials For Catalysis And Chemical Mechanical Planarization, Cecil A. Coutinho

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Composite materials formed from two or more functionally different materials offer a versatile avenue to create a tailored material with well defined traits. Within this dissertation research, multi-functional composites were synthesized based on organic and inorganic materials. The functionally of these composites was experimentally tested and a semi-empirical model describing the sedimentation behavior of these particles was developed.

This first objective involved the fabrication of microcomposites consisting of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles confined within porous, microgels of a thermo-responsive polymer for use in the photocatalytic treatment of wastewater. TiO₂ has been shown to be an excellent photocatalyst …

End-To-End Available Bandwidth Estimation And Monitoring, Cesar Dario Guerrero Santander

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Available Bandwidth Estimation Techniques and Tools (ABETTs) have recently been envisioned as a supporting mechanism in areas such as compliance of service level agreements, network management, traffic engineering and real-time resource provisioning, flow and congestion control, construction of overlay networks, fast detection of failures and network attacks, and admission control. However, it is unknown whether current ABETTs can run efficiently in any type of network, under different network conditions, and whether they can provide accurate available bandwidth estimates at the timescales needed by these applications.

This dissertation investigates techniques and tools able to provide accurate, low overhead, reliable, and fast …

Adiposity, Stress, And Stigmatization: A Biopsychosocial Approach To Cardiovascular Disease Prediction, Kristi E. White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to use a biopsychosocial approach to investigate the role of body image concerns and appearance-related evaluation stress in the relationship between adiposity and cardiovascular reactivity and recovery. Participants included 106 Caucasian female undergraduates at the University of South Florida. The laboratory procedure consisted of resting baseline, speech preparation and delivery, and recovery phases. Participants also completed a variety of body image questionnaires. To manipulate appearance-related evaluation stress, participants were randomly assigned to present their speech to a video camera or an audio recorder. Overall adiposity was measured as body mass index (BMI) and …

Prevalence Of Client Violence Against Social Work Students And Its Effects On Fear Of Future Violence, Occupational Commitment, And Career Withdrawal Intentions, Pamela Myatt Criss

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social work literature has documented that social workers may be the victims of client violence. However, to date, no studies have documented the nationwide prevalence of client violence towards social work students. This study examined direct and indirect incidents of physical assault, threats of physical harm, verbal abuse, threats of lawsuit, and property damage. The randomly selected national sample of social work students were selected from the National Association of Social Workers (N = 595).

Findings revealed that 41.7% of social work students directly experienced client violence during their practicum. The highest rate of the violence reported by students was …

The Daily Show: Journalism’S Jester, Mark R. Mccarthy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The social meaning of television news has been under transformation since the successes of cable news in the final years of the previous century. In their attempts to preserve viewership and to remain relevant, traditional broadcast news outlets increasingly emulate the conventions of cable news. Instead of retaining audiences, the result has been declining news content and a continued loss of viewers. Amid these industry transformations, the concept of “journalist” continues to undergo change. This evolution of the news allows for a decidedly unique response to news programming in The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. Though advertised as a half-hour …

Examining A Multidimensional Model Of Attitudinal Commitment, Kyle W. Groff

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Attitudinal commitment (AOC) to the organization is consistently viewed as the most desirable form of organizational commitment due to its consistently positive relationship with many desirable workplace outcomes. Though researchers tend to overlap considerably with their definitions of attitudinal commitment, consensus on how to define and operationalize this form of organizational commitment has yet to be reached. Recently, Jaussi (2007) proposed a multidimensional model of AOC that borrows from the various conceptualizations of AOC in an attempt to form an all encompassing scale. The current study examined the utility of using a multidimensional measure of AOC by examining the unique …

2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (Tnt) Air Concentrations, Hemoglobin Changes, And Anemia Cases In Respirator Protected Tnt Munitions Demilitarization Workers, Melville D. Bradley M.D.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene, TNT, is an explosive used in munitions production that is known to cause both aplastic and hemolytic anemia in exposed workers. Deaths have been reported secondary to both varieties of anemia. Studies have shown that TNT systemic absorption is significant by both the respiratory and dermal routes. A literature review revealed that the most recent review article on TNT exposure arguing for a TWA drop from the PEL to the TLV was in 1977 -- this article cited anemia issues in addition to other untoward effects of TNT. No studies encountered looked at hemoglobin change or anemia cases in …

The Modern Community Garden Movement In The United States: Its Roots, Its Current Condition And Its Prospects For The Future, Joshua Birky

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous researchers have shown that community gardens have the potential to eliminate social, communal, health, agricultural and economic problems that many in the United States and the rest of the world are facing. Yet, throughout history allotment and community gardens have been seen as improper elements of urban landscapes and used predominately for crisis mitigation and not as sustainable solutions. This thesis shows that the current U.S. community garden movement is inherently different than past unsustainable movements and may establish community gardens as sustainable features of many municipalities in the U.S. This is because the modern U.S. movement is supported …

Correlates Of Body Depilation In Men, Michael Boroughs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Body depilation is a relatively new area of research inquiry. Although women in many industrialized cultures have engaged in body depilation for some time, this behavior has been documented only recently in men. While originally thought to be the practice of just a small percentage of men, recent studies suggest that more men engage in body depilation than had been previously hypothesized (Boroughs & Thompson, 2002; Boroughs, Cafri, & Thompson, 2005; Martins, Tiggemann, & Churchett, 2008; Tiggemann, Martins, & Churchett, 2008). Nevertheless, this area of research is understudied and the relationship between body depilation and men's overall body image is …

Exploring The Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Abuse And Borderline Personality Features Using Social Support As A Moderating Factor, Meredith B. Elzy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between childhood maltreatment and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a prominent issue in the etiological research on BPD. This study further explored the relationship between CSA and the development of borderline personality features while evaluating the moderating role of a primary social support source. The Inventory of Altered Self-Capacities (IASC) (Briere, 2000) was used to measure borderline features of participants in this study, a slightly modified version of the Early Sexual Experiences (ESE) questionnaire (Bartoi & Kinder, 1998) was used to evaluate childhood sexual abuse, and the Quality of Relationships Inventory (Pierce, Sarason, & Sarason, 1991) as well …

Southern Black Women: Their Lived Realities, Robin M. Boylorn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Focusing on the lived experiences of ten rural black women in a familial community in central North Carolina, this project documents the mundane and extraordinary events of their lives and how they create meaningful lives through storytelling. Theoretically grounded in black feminist thought, intersectionality theory and muted group theory the investigation calls for the use of storytelling and poetry to understand how rural black women experience, live, and communicate their lives. Merging the experiences of participants with the researcher, the study also considers the ethical implications of being an insider-outsider and offers suggestions for engaging in creative scholarship. The author …

Swift: Peculiar Supporter Of Female Writers, Robert N. Gamache

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) is not traditionally known for valuing the company of women. While contemporary critics tend to be more forgiving and defer to the prevailing values of the eighteenth century, they generally do not dwell on the positive influence that Swift had on female writers of his day. This thesis will work towards remedying that omission by analyzing the writing of three prominent female contemporaries of Swift: Delariviere Manley, Mary Barber and Laetitia Pilkington. While varying in writing ability, each of the three women in this thesis had a personal relationship with Swift, was invited to join his "inner …

Ecological Dynamics Of Livebottom Ledges And Artificial Reefs On The Inner Central West Florida Shelf, Jennifer Maria Dupont

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The West Florida Shelf (WFS) is one of the largest and most diversely-used continental shelf/slope systems in the world. The presence of paleoshorelines and scarped hardbottom outcrops (up to 4 m in relief) along the inner shelf (10-30 m depth) provide important habitat for a variety of infaunal, epifaunal, and fish assemblages that contribute to the productivity of the region. This dissertation will present a comprehensive overview of the geological, physical, and chemical settings of the inner West Florida Shelf, with particular focus on biological and ecological community dynamics of epibenthic macroinvertebrates, algae, and fish assemblages. Baseline and comparative data …

Why We Do It – The University Of South Florida Tampa Library’S Commitment To Open-Access Publishing, Todd A. Chavez

Academic Resources Faculty and Staff Publications

The University of South Florida Tampa Library's support for open-access content is part of the organization's mission to advance scholarly communication generally and an important element of the Karst Information Portal initiative. As the costs associated with journal subscriptions increase and pressures to ensure unfettered access to high-quality, peer-reviewed research mount, research libraries must partner with scholars to establish sustainable open-access publishing models.

Characterization Of Nprc And Its Binding Partners, Abdel A. Alli

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The C type natriuretic peptide receptor (NPRC) also known as NPR3 is a widely expressed single transmembrane-spanning protein. NPRC functions as a homodimer at the cell surface for the metabolic clearance of a broad range of natriuretic peptides from circulation. The intracellular domain of NPRC is coupled to inhibitory G proteins and is involved in mediating signal transduction. In order to further elucidate the role of NPRC in signal transduction a proteomic approach was taken to identify putative protein binding partners for NPRC in different cell-types. An interrogation of the molecular association between NPRC and its identified protein binding partner(s) …

The Importance Of Benthic Habitats As Reservoirs Of Persistent Fecal Indicator Bacteria, Brian D. Badgley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Enterococci are fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) that are used worldwide for water

quality assessment. However, evidence of high densities and extended survival of

enterococci in sediments and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) has caused uncertainty

about their reliability in predicting human health risks from recreational activities in

environmental waters. To address the concern that sediments and SAV may harbor large

reservoirs of enterococci that can affect water column concentrations, aquatic mesocosms

and environmental sampling were employed to investigate patterns of enterococci

densities and population structure across the Tampa Bay watershed.

In mesocosm experiments and environmental samples, SAV harbored higher

densities of …

A Hypergraph Regularity Method For Linear Hypergraphs, Shoaib Amjad Khan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Szemerédi's Regularity Lemma is powerful tool in Graph Theory, yielding many applications in areas such as Extremal Graph Theory, Combinatorial Number Theory and Theoretical Computer Science. Strong hypergraph extensions of graph regularity techniques were recently given by Nagle, Rödl, Schacht and Skokan, by W.T. Gowers, and subsequently, by T. Tao. These extensions have yielded quite a few non-trivial applications to Extremal Hypergraph Theory, Combinatorial Number Theory and Theoretical Computer Science. A main drawback to the hypergraph regularity techniques above is that they are highly technical. In this thesis, we consider a less technical version of hypergraph regularity which more directly …

Spanish-Specific Patterns And Nonword Repetition Performance In English Language Learners, María R. Brea-Spahn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nonword repetition tasks were originally devised to assess the efficiency of the phonological loop (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974), a component of the working memory system, where verbal information is temporarily stored and translated to support activities like phonological processing during early word-recognition (Snowling, 1981; Wagner et al., 2003), speech production (McCarthy & Warrington, 1984), and articulation (Watkins, Dronkers, & Vargha-Khadem, 2002; Yoss & Darley, 1974).

From a practical perspective, there is a significant need for a systematically-designed Spanish nonword repetition measure that is equivalent to currently-available English measures. For this study, a database of nonwords that considered phonotactic and phonological …

Trophic Enrichment Patterns Of Δ13C In Organic Matter Of Molluscan Shell: Implications For Reconstructing Ancient Environments And Food Webs, Julie Mcknight

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Shell organic matrix proteins in fossils are valuable geochemical archives for studying ancient environments and food webs. Compound-specific studies of stable carbon isotope ratios offer particularly good resolution of trophic level of consumers and the identities of primary producers and can be used to detect diagenetic alteration of isotopic ratios. To interpret compound specific isotope data, however, controlled diet studies in the laboratory are needed to reveal trophic enrichment patterns of ¹³C in tissues and shell organic matter.

This study examines the relationship between δ¹³C of 11 amino acids in diet, soft tissues, and shell organic matter …

Quantitative Literacy On The Web Of Science, 2 – Mining The Health Numeracy Literature For Assessment Items, H. Len Vacher, Todd A. Chavez

Academic Resources Faculty and Staff Publications

A topic search of the Web of Science (WoS) database using the term “numeracy” produced a bibliography of 293 articles, reviews and editorial commentaries (Oct 2008). The citation graph of the bibliography clearly identifies five benchmark papers (1995-2001), four of which developed numeracy assessment instruments. Starting with the 80 papers that cite these benchmarks, we identified a set of 25 papers (1995-2008) in which the medical research community reports the development and/or application of health-numeracy assessments. In all we found 10 assessment instruments from which we have compiled a total of 48 assessment items. There are both general and context-specific …

Success Strategies For Thesis Students: Creating A Video Toolbox, Claudia J. Dold

Claudia J. Dold

With an increase in our pool of users and a cap on hiring, the librarians in our shop needed a way to clone themselves in order to deliver the same good service on which we pride ourselves and on which our constituency has come to rely. Our proposed solution was to create video segments on how to use the library effectively. Funded by a grant, a project was undertaken to produce a series of fifteen videos designed to guide students through the research and writing skills that their program chairs deem essential for top-quality work. This paper presents the thought …